Digital News Report – SAN FRANCISCO – City Attorney Dennis Herrera today announced that the City and County of San Francisco has joined a coalition of cities and health, environmental and mothers’ groups in a lawsuit suit challenging the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s light brown apple moth eradication program.

The civil lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court today-on the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day-charges that the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the controversial program is not based on sound science, and is invalidated because of last-minute changes in the objective of the program from eradicating to merely controlling the moth-a change CDFA made after the EIR was finished. As a result, the EIR fails to examine a range of alternatives as required by law, including a “no-action” alternative as well as minimally toxic or non-toxic methods targeted as control and not eradication treatments.

In joining the lawsuit, Herrera issued the following statement:

“The California Department of Food and Agriculture has produced an environmental impact report that raises many more questions than it answers,” said Herrera. “After combing through this document, it is literally impossible to say with certainty what CDFA plans to do, or when and where it plans to do it. To confuse matters further, the eradication program under review was subsequently morphed into a ‘control, contain and suppress’ program-whatever that means. CEQA exists to make sure Californians are fully informed about the risks posed by projects like this on the environment and public health. CDFA has clearly fallen short of that legal requirement. San Francisco has grave concerns about the potential adverse health consequences of this controversial program, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to join with other municipalities and interest groups to make sure all of our concerns are addressed.”

CDFA was planning on approximately $100 Million of taxpayer dollars every year for about 30 years for this fraudulent LBAM Program. Kawamura, the Secretary of the CDFA, and other top executives, cannot easily steal the money and put it into their own accounts. Instead, they deliver it to their crony buddies at large privileged insider chemical companies in the form of contracts for pesticides that are totally unnecessary.

This lawsuit filed against CDFA will put mud in Kawamrua’s face since he has failed to accomplish the total fraud that he has been heading up for three years. Because the Governor appointed Kawamura, tremendous embarrassment goes the governor’s way. This fiasco for a bug that is a non-issue will offset Schwarzenegger’s reputation for anything good that he did during his tenure, as little as that may be.

Unless the governor directs the attorney general NOT to defend this case, but rather to withdraw the flawed EIR and moth program, this LBAM fiasco will go down worse than any of the governor’s “B” Movies.

CDFA promoted this program even though the weight would be on the back of farmers with the unnecessary quarantines and inspections. Had the economy not tanked, it is very possible that CDFA would have gotten away with the $100 million for 30 years amid the prosperity, and the public would not have not known the basis of the program was a fraud.

The CDFA is not releasing the chemicals it is applying because they are “trade secrets.” There is no documented evidence of any damage from this moth. There is no photo or any evidence of damage from the Light Brown Apple Moth. The one case mentioned is heasay from a farmer, who also said he was not sure what kind of leaf roller may have caused the damage.

These chemicals are being released near school, water supplies, and on food sources with no notice and no consent. Parents would never allow doctors to force mysterious medications on their children yet the CDFA is applying untested chemicals.

Make the CDFA accountable now! Stop this $100 million toxic waste of money now.